Double float-valve device



y 8, 1952 s. GREENING DOUBLE FLOAT-VALVE DEVICE Filed Nov. 18, 1949 IN VEN TOR. gee/15 1 e w d 8 n n 3 a 0 4 3 5w M a 3 5 n 3 v T a I .l :7 O 4 I; 1r, FE I w 2 v 7 6 W I Patented July 8, 1952 Standlee' Greening, Norwalk, Calif., assignor to Agro' Phosphate Company, a corporation of California...

Ap ica on Nbye' ieer 18, 1949, Serial No. 128,143

This invention relates to'a pressure control :doublefloat valve created expressly forliquids which may contain solid or semi-solid aggregates or matter-in suspension that is'apt'to "ac cumulate at valve stems-and seats and thus render the valve inoperative. In colloidal mixtures such as fertilizers, and/or soil conditioners, such as phosphoric acid for instance, the suspended particles seem to have an attraction for valve seats and form aliquid barrier and this barrier must be dispersed. Reciprocation of a tapered valve head is generally sufiicient to scatter the 6 Claims; (Cl. -137391) particles and reestablish normal how in accordance to the 'valve setting. Ordinary valves become inoperative andrequire expensive watching and cleaning operations, but the valve means of this invention is automatically'cleaned and freed of all obstructions and remains in constant and regular service.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to'present'a new and novel valve combination 'arrangement'for constant pressure feed of viscous'and non-viscous liquids which may contain lumpy material or colloidal material which is apt to collect around valve seats.

'Anotherobject is the production of a means of the kind described that is simpleand durable in operation'j'dependable 'for constant carefree operation, convenient I forv installation, inexpensive, compact, eflicient,:and' pleasing and attractive in' appearances and satisfactory for use wherever found applicable.

Other objects, advantages and features of this invention will appear from a careful perusal of the accompanying drawings, the subjoined detailed description, the preamble of these specifications, and the appended claims.

Below, applicant describes one of the preferable forms of his invention in order to teach the artthereof and show how to make and use; the same, butit isto lee-understood that the' drawings and description thereof are not to limit the invention in any sense whatsoever ex- .cept as the same is limited by the prior art. Language employed herein is not to 'be construed as giving any unauthorized person or organization the right to make,'use and/or sell the invention herein disclosed. 'In'the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view with portions broken away'to show details of the device,

"Figure 2 is a bottom plan of the device,

Figure '3is a top plan thereof, Figure 4 is an enlarged bottom portion of the deviceshown' in elevational view,

Figure 5 is an elevational view of a tank"with the device of this invention attached thereto.

The particular form of the invention as illustrated, comprises the outer shell or cylindrical v casing I having its lower end openjand' itsupper end closed by the integral head 2 i" this head hay-'- ing the integral upright protrusion 3. Alflfli'flet bore or passage 4 is provided through the head which is designed to pass liquid into the' large cylindrical chamber 5. This head 2 may befif desired, a separate unit adapted to be cemented to the inner wall of the cylinder .The bore 4 has the offset portion 6 to provide an annular shoulder or valve seat andthe under surface of the wall 1 about the bore 4 is smooth in order to provide another valve seat.

The open end of the cylinder isprovided with the piston-like plug '8 which has the integral and downwardly directed connector or protrusion 9; the entire plug having a bore or passage If], the top wall ll of which is smooth to provide a valve seat l2 about the top of the bore.

v This plug has the threaded portion it which valve has an annular groove consists of a spiral groove which rides on a single short king thread member l4 that consists of a pin that slides intothe. cylinder through ,a pair. of spaced apart alined holes I5 and [5 this allows the pin to engage the groove.

Within the chamber 5 of the cylinder there are the pair of spaced float elements 'I l and [8. The bottom float element having the centrallyj positioned sealed-in tube l9 which functions as a guide member for the valve stem 20, the'top of this stem being screwed into or otherwise fixed to the bottom of fioat element ll and the bottom end of the stem'being fixed to the tapered valve .h'ead' 2|, as shown. Thus, the vertical movement of the top fioat will move the valve 2!. This that accommodates theOring 22. The top'float element I! has a pairof spaced apart sealed-in tubes 23 and 24 which accom mo'date the valve stems or rods 2-5 and 26 respectively. These rods are screwedinto or otherwise fixed to the top portions of the bottom float element l8 and the top ends of these rods are cemented to or otherwise fixed to'a disc-like yoke member 2'! which limits movement of the tapered valve head 28' which has a bore *thereinto accommodate a sliding short'valve stem 29 that has its bottom end screwed into or otherwise fixed to the top float I! at 29'. This short stem also slides through a bore in the center of the disc- 'like member 2'! and has fixed to the top thereof another valve head '30 which is also tapered and Figure shows the control valve device, indi- I cated as l and, as attached to a tank 35 by means shown attached to the valve 39 by means ofa hose that slides over the protrusion 3 and over a portion of the end of valve 39, and the bottom protrusion portion 9 of the device accommodates a pipe or hose 40 which conducts, for instance, phosphoric acid inmeasured amounts into the trough or irrigation ditch H. The amount of ,acid fed to'the ditch depends upon the setting of the plug 8 with respect to the hole or opening 34. A plurality of divisional lines are shown on the plug at 33 and these division lines are spaced at predetermined positions and numbered to indicate rate of liquid flow fromthe chamber 5, for instance, in pounds of acid per hour. The hole 34 is in the cylinder l and note that the zero line crosses the hole when the plug is set for complete closure of the valves 30 and 2|.

Any suitable material may be'employed for all the parts shown'and described, 1 but it has been found that clear plastics can be used so .that the operator can see at a glance just wha is happening inside the device.

Operation As shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, the top valve 30 is closed tight because of the position of the plug 8, thus no liquid can enter into the chamber 5 viathe ingress bore or passage 4. Also, no liquid can egress through bore H] from the chamber 5 because of the tightly closed valve 2|, that is, if some liquid were allowed to remain in the chamber 5. By rotating the plug 8 counbore 4, the lower valve 2! remaining closed until the upper float element I1 is raised by the liquid collected in the chamber 5. Until the lower float element is raised, the valve 28 remains open. The liquid, viscous or non-viscous, rises in the chamber 5 until the upper float element is affected and rises, then the outlet valve 2| is opened and a steady discharge is made at the'rate set. The two floats are so balanced that valves 21 and 28 remain open as long as the valves are clear and unobstructed. The balance between the two floats and their valves times the distance between the valve seats creates static flow which by all laws of nature tend to remain in balance and there-fore static. The valve 30 is normally unaffected as this valve is controlled principally by the plug setting at thebottom of the device, but will be closed by the top float in certaincases. Note, that the discharge at 2] is practically at atmospheric pressure because of the vent hole 12 provided at thetop of the chamber, thus a posi- .tion between the bottom tive pressure or head pressure in the tank 35 is non-efiective upon any part of the device except the very top valve.

Should the opening about the valve 2| become clogged for any reason, the liquid level in chamber 5 would rise until the upper float in conjunction with the lower float opens the valve 2:! wide enough to let the interfering solids pass. However, when the valve 28 is closed, there is a trickle of liquid between the bore of the valve head 28 and the stem 29, there being suflicient loose play, until the bottom float completely closes the very top inlet valve 30 and this occurs before the liquid reaches the vent opening 1). N'onnallypghowever, the obstruction about the outlet opening'of valve 2| will pass through and not. make it necessary to close the top valve 30. Should the upper valve 28 become clogged, then the chamber would soon be drained so as to let the lower float element fall and thus open the valve 28 wide enough to let the solids pass which have been blocking the way. The O ring 8 allows the plug 8 to be freely rotated by hand and prevents leakage. a a r It is believed that the above explanation makes it clear-how the control device operates without any'attendant. Such valve control means can remain in service for a long, time 'andperform perfectly to the full satisfaction of rancher and farmer.

It is understood that various changes and modifications may be made in parts and details of form, style, design, and'in construction of the whole or any part of the'specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof in that such changes are considered as being'within the scope ofthe folopening and closing it, rigid means extending upwardlyfrom the top float'with a valve head thereon and an ingress opening-at the very top of the casing with a valve seat to receive the valve. head,. means in combination with the closure to allow it to be adjusted vertically and hence regulate the position of the valve head through the outlet valve, and ,a vent at the top of the chamber.

2. The float valve device recited in. claim 1 wherein the closure is providedwith'a spiral groove around its periphery, and a pin passing through a portion ofthe casingand into a portion of the groove to provide a'threaded connecof the casing and the closure. 3' 1 s 3. In a regulatory valve device that has selffreeing valve openings from aggregates and the like; the device comprising an elongated vertical casing with an elongated vertically arranged chamber therein for passage of liquids, an ingress bore at the top end of the casing having top'and bottom spaced'apart valve seats and an adjustable closure means at the bottom end of the casing having an egress bore with a valve seat, a top float and a bottom float in the chamber, the top float having stem means fixed thereto and freely passing through the bottom float and having a long tapered valve head fixed to its bottom end which is adapted to engage the valve seat of the egress bore, the bottom float having stem means fixed thereto which pass freely through the top float and which latter means has a tapered valve head fixed to the top thereof for making contact with the bottom valve seat of the ingress bore, and a valve stem fixed to the top of the top float and which is provided with a valve head at the top end thereof that is adapted to be adjusted with respect to the top valve seat in the ingress bore so that when. the closure means is adjusted vertically, the latter mentioned valve head is adjusted through concerted movement of the valve head in the V egress bore and the movement of the top float.

4. The float valve device recited in claim 3 wherein the closure means is provided with a spiral groove around its periphery, and a pin passing through a portion of the casing and into a portion of the groove to provide a threaded connection between the bottom of the casing and the closure means.

5. In a float valve device comprising a casing with a chamber having an inlet valve at the top and an outlet valve at the bottom thereof, a pair of floats in the chamber between the valves, one of the floats having connection with the outlet valve and the other connection with the inlet valve, said floats operating in a manner that an increased level of liquid in the chamber tends to close the inlet valve and open the outlet valve wider, and a decrease in level tends to close the outlet valve and open the inlet valve wider, a prime control valve at the very top of the casing for the purpose of setting the rate of flow, a vent at the top of the chamber, means making a rigid connection between the control and outlet valves, the outlet valve having threads mesh with means at the bottom of the casing so that the outlet valve can be manually adjusted along with 6 the prime control valve for limiting the liquid flow through the chamber.

6. In a float valve device for regulating the flow of liquids which may contain agglomerations, the

device comprising a casing with an elongated chamber therein that has an inlet valve at the top thereof and an outlet valve at the bottom thereof, a pair of floats in the chamber between the above mentioned valves, one of the floats in the chamber having connection with the outlet valve and the other float having connection with the inlet valve, said mentioned floats operating in a manner that an increased level of liquid in the chamber operates the inlet valve toward closing position and operatesthe outlet valve wider, and a decrease in level of the liquid operates the outlet valve toward closing position and the inlet valve to a wider open position, a prime control valve at the top of the casing above the inlet valve and which control valve is for the purpose of setting the flow of liquid through the chamber at a definite rate, an air vent at the very top of the chamber, means joining the control valve and the outlet valve together for joint operation, and means for adjusting the position of the outlet valve.

STANDLE-E GREENING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 587,854 Park Aug. 10, 1897 1,862,224 Langley June 7, 1932 1,862,667 Edwards June 14, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 867,214 France of 1941 

